Mapping and Valuing Ecosystem Services for Integrated Management

Summary

Ecosystem services were mapped and valued in a participatory process that included designing spatially-explicit scenarios of future human uses throughout Belize's coastal zone. To understand the implications of different development scenarios, the team used InVEST models to map future value of coastal protection, recreation, and fisheries services. The resulting Plan can help the people of Belize plot a wiser course for managing the incredibly valuable resources their ocean and coast provide.

Classifications

Region

Caribbean

Scale of implementation

Local

National

Subnational

Ecosystem

Coral reef

Freshwater ecosystems

Lagoon

Mangrove

Marine and coastal ecosystems

Seagrass

Wetland (swamp, marsh, peatland)

Theme

Coastal and marine spatial management

Ecosystem services

Sustainable development goals

SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth

SDG 14 – Life below water

Aichi targets

Target 2: Biodiversity values integrated

Target 6: Sustainable management of aquatic living resources

Target 11: Protected areas

Target 14: Ecosystem services

Target 19: Sharing information and knowledge

Location

Belize

Challenges

Multiple, competing uses in coastal zone

Lack of integrated planning

Lack of spatial data and tools to create the country’s first national integrated coastal zone management plan

How do the building blocks interact?

These three building blocks illustrate the science-policy process carried out in Belize. It includes an emphasis on iterative stakeholder engagement, advancing science to address policy needs, and capacity-building through six general steps: (1) scope the process, (2) collect and compile data, (3) develop scenarios, (4) analyze ecosystem services, (5) synthesize results, and (6) communicate knowledge.

Interaction Gallery

Impacts

Advancing the management and conservation of coastal and marine environments, and explicitly accounting for nature’s benefits to people

Blends stakeholder engagement with science models of ecosystem services and makes it available to policy makers

Story

Mapmaking makes a difference in Belize Gregg Verutes, WWF GIS analyst: As an expert in GIS mapping, I expect my maps to work behind the scenes. The multilayered depictions I construct to illustrate the ways we use and value nature, usually inform scientists, practitioners and policy makers. They rarely feature prominently on televised efforts to secure sustainable national energy policy. But exactly that happened recently in Belize. A simple map I made at the urging of a tour guide helped defeat a proposal to intensify offshore oil drilling. Our team was in Belize for a training but Hurricane Rina forced us to cancel. I took advantage of the free time to visit the Mayan ruins. As we bounced along the winding road in a jeep, my guide Carlos inquired about my occupation. I explained that I translate data about the potential environmental impacts of natural resource use into visual representations of how nature benefits people. “Oh, so you make maps?” he asked. “Yes, basically.” His face took on an excitement I rarely see when discussing GIS. “You know what would be great? Make a map of the US Gulf oil spill and put it on top of Belize!” he said. “People are arguing about oil drilling around Belize. It would help to show what’s at stake if a similar disaster happened here.” It was one of those light bulb moments. As a mapmaker I have a pretty good sense of the relative size of various countries and bodies of water, but the map I created surprised even me. I knew that the oil spill would look large compared to Belize, but I was taken aback to see how thoroughly the black splotch covered its coastline. The map showed how an oil spill of this magnitude off the coast of Belize would devastate the country. Almost half of Belizeans draw their livelihoods from the coast, whether from fishing, tourism or other ocean-oriented occupations. I sent the map to an organization called Healthy Reefs for Healthy people Initiative, which started incorporating the image into signs and television ads that urged people to vote “no” in the upcoming People’s Referendum. In the end over 90 percent of Belizeans voted against oil exploration and drilling offshore. The map was made with advanced technology, but needed no explanation. The arresting image showed starkly how valuable nature is to the health and well-being of the people. And those people took action to protect the ecosystem they depend on. What more could a humble mapmaker ask for?